#AT HIGHER PRICES THAN JUST KEYCHAINS I'VE SEEN AROUND

[blanchebees]

Extremely confused at why fanartists can't sell anything sleep token related but i still see people selling HUGE paintings??? R/CA MAKE IT MAKE SENSE

[cripplecharacters]

Hey! So one of my characters has fibromyalgia and I have her using crutches for it. My problem is that I was on crutches a while aback and I remember them being like really painful on the hands (grip wise). Is there any way to like make the handles softer to stop the grip from hurting other than buying a custom set of crutches (from what I’ve seen they’re ridiculously expensive). Thanks for answering :p [emoticon of a smiley face sticking its tongue out]

Hello!

If your character is using crutches long-term (Such as for a chronic condition/permanent disability), they would likely be using forearm crutches, which are different from the kind of crutches you use for a temporary injury.

Forearm crutches are much better for longer use because they are more comfortable and can help prevent damage caused by long-term use of regular crutches.

That said, if you're referring to regular crutches, there are several options available to make them more comfortable. Virus mentioned a few products for padding below so I'll just add that there's also DIY ways to improve the comfort when using regular crutches.

One of the main ways that I've seen it done (And I've used myself back in the day) is to take a hand towel and secure it around the top via duct tape. It helped a lot to prevent bruising around my armpits/upper arms when using them.

Virus covered most of what I wanted to go over below so I'll end my part here!

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

Hello lovely asker!

I use regular crutches on and off! 😃 Forearm crutches and canes don't work too well with my body but normal crutches have always been comfortable for me!

They actually make these paddings that go around the part for under the arm and for around the handle part, usually secured with Velcro or a button clasp. Some have like memory foam, some are more of a stuffing texture (sorta fluffy), there's some gel ones, some are more like moleskin where they're not padded but they prevent friction, and sometimes there's a neat little bag that comes with that hangs on the side of them. Of course the hand made option is always very good too, which a lot of people do. Having the crutches decorated/customized is an cool option which I mean a lot of us do with stickers, washi tape, charms, keychains, other things that you can safely decorate mobility aids with.

But Icarus is very right though. I don't use my crutches everyday I use them whenever I injure myself or need support. My body is very loosy goosy for a lack of better words and so I often injure my lower body very frequently, so I often just need the support. But I also lean on everything around my house and use things for support. My old medical pole, I do this with my wheelchair, the counters, the handles on doors and the fridge. Most everything I named comes up to right below my shoulder or higher so I don't have to lean over to lean on anything or in an uncomfortable position.

I think this is an interesting to think of: does this work for your character?

If it's no, maybe not, and you still want to show regular crutches being used, one thing you can do actually is show the character start with underarm crutches and then change to forearm crutches as their long term aid. Or even show that they change in between them; using their forearm crutches for most of their movement/activities while using the underarm ones for something quick or as a quick grab or if their forearm crutches break etc.

But also if you're doing a situation where it's like post-apocalytic setting, poor area/the character grew up poor, or other situations like that, it is very likely for the character to use underarm crutches rather than forearm crutches. Forearm crutches can be about double to triple the price of what normal crutches are so they are a bit more expensive. These are all little factors to consider.

Hope this helps some and happy writing!

~ Mod Virus 🌸